AfDB Private Sector Window Supports the Development of the Energy Sector in Senegal

Tunis, 22 June 2005 - The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved through its private sector window, a loan of 8 million Euro for the implementation of the Kounoune Thermal Power Project located at Kounoune, 23 kilometers East of Dakar, Senegal. This project aims at increasing the current level of electricity supply at a competitive cost in order to meet the growing demand for electricity in Senegal.

The project consists of three components, namely: the construction and operation of a 67.5 MW heavy fuel diesel plant based on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) contract; the construction of a fuel supply pipeline (heavy fuel) connecting the plant to the fuel source and a substation linking the plant to SENELEC (public utility’s) grid.

This project is consistent with the Government’s energy development policy aimed at meeting the increasing social and economic demand for energy. It is also in line with Senegal’s poverty reduction strategy and the Bank’s private sector vision aimed, inter-alia, at promoting Public-Private Partnerships in the area of infrastructure.

The main economic benefit likely to accrue from this project is the expansion of the electrification level of the country, thus supporting the growth of the economy, and in particular of the Senegalese industrial sector.

This is the first operation of the Bank’s Private Sector Window in the energy sector in Senegal.

The Bank Group's operations in Senegal started in 1972. To date, the cumulative commitment of the Group in the country amounts to 699 million Euro for 62 operations.